Sky’s Litter 2026
Sky Puppies!
(Most recent posts at top.)
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September 29, 2026 (12 weeks)
The last of the puppies went home this past weekend. I know they are all in good homes with wonderful families. We cleaned and disinfected everything and put all the puppy necessities back into storage.
My house feels bigger and quieter.
I planned ahead. Kind of.
I still have Rooster! I may be biased, but he is the best. He is super sweet and he always sits right at my feet. He’s so similar in personality to Sky. He’s a big softy.
Rooster has moved to his own kennel in the room with the grown up dogs. His confidence is starting to bloom as he transitions. He is adapting perfectly to his kennel and we are working on house training. One rug looks just like the washable pee pads from the whelping box so a few oopsies have happened there. I may have to move that for a bit. He has learned to walk on a leash and did great at the hardware store. My timid little boy has started to blossom.
September 17, 2026 (10 weeks)
These puppies are liars.
Twice a day, at least, all of the puppies tell me they are starving. I swear I feed them the prescribed amount, but I have to check every day because every puppy insists I am abusing them. I put food down and it’s gone in seconds. Their mothers take their time with their food and eat very politely. These puppies are monsters, I mean, hungry.
I picked up Hen this morning and she felt extraordinarily chonky. Fluffy in more ways than one, you might say. Some jiggle in her middle. A little extra squishy.
Puppies may get less food tomorrow.
Puppies got to try some cheese bones today. Yak cheese.
Rooster realized his size meant he got the bone.
So my daughter implemented an oddly effective system of kennel time with cheese bones. Two bones, two kennels, two dogs chewing bones safely at a time.
They loved the kennels because it meant exclusive bone time. Some waited patiently for their turns, some did not.
Rooster figured out how to steal the bone from outside the kennel.
Egg and Bean not only chewed on the bones, they danced with bones. Bones were fun.
September 15, 2026 (10 weeks)
My house is a bit chaotic right now. Seven ten/eleven week old puppies is a lot of puppies. I spend a good portion of the day just cleaning and doing laundry.
I take puppies outside for zoomie breaks. I don’t use the tiny enclosure anymore and I let them run wherever they want and they want to run everywhere at once. Just like toddlers they have a general space bubble around me that they won’t venture too far from, but every day that bubble expands a little.
This is also the age where Sky and Maya decide they can be puppies again too and they join in the play. The puppies will chase them around in circles and everyone naps well when we come back inside.
I don’t have a lot of pictures because everyone moves too fast and inevitably part of the circle they choose includes running between my legs.
When we pick them up to go outside, everyone’s reaction is just a little bit different. Hen will wag her tail so hard I’m always afraid she’s going to wiggle her way out of my arms. As soon as I put her down she’s wound up and ready to go. Rooster will be perfectly still in my arms and will cuddle in close. When I put him down is when the tail wagging starts and the zoomies commence. Egg will not want to leave the indoor enclosure and will try to go back, but as soon as I put him down outside he realizes where he is and his demeanor completely changes and he is happy as can be. Cow will give tiny kisses all the way to the door and Cluck will go wherever we decide to go and will be perfectly at peace with it.
I am very happy with the confidence levels this litter has shown. They have done very well with adapting to new situations and recover well from new experiences that might initially be scary. For example, no one liked bath time at first but now they have all accepted that sometimes they need a little cleaning and they are ok with it. They also were unsure about car rides, but everyone does fine in a car now. I know new cars and new people may be a new experience again, but I have full confidence that they will recover quickly in any new environment.
September 6, 2026 (8 weeks)
Two posts in one week! I’m on a roll!
I made my oldest hold the puppies for individual shots so ignore the awkwardness. I had limited time to get my shots in.
Puppies are getting to the wild stage. They play and they play hard. Someone is crying by the end. As scary as it sounds, it is essential to puppy development. This is where they learn bite inhibition. It hurts and they yelp and they learn.
Individual personalities have definitely developed.
Hen is our only little girl. She is also tied for the biggest in the litter. She is both noisy and confident. She doesn’t necessarily cry out of fear; she mostly cries because you are in the room and you are not playing with her or holding her and that is an injustice. Oh, and you might not be delivering food in a timely manner. She will play all day and follow the big dog until she’s told not to. She is one of the most people oriented puppies in this litter. She loves everyone.
Cow is the other tricolor puppy and I wonder if the two of them share brain cells. Cow would like to be held all day. If you can’t hold him, he would like to chew on your finger. He has stumbled a little into the fear period, but he’s slowly walking out of it and gaining his confidence back. But he would still would like to be held. Always. He’ll give you kisses for your service.
Rooster reminds me of the big jock who is really a softy at heart. He is tied for biggest right now but as the boy he will eventually be the biggest overall. I bet this guy will reach 15 pounds. He will walk around the house with me, but instead of going to play with the other dogs or finding trouble, he will sit on my feet if I stop. He will just lay down and watch all the shenanigans. He is so sweet and can be a little more timid. His hair is unique in this litter and I think will be the easiest to maintain.
Egg has always followed his own path. He can join the crowd and he can go on his own. He is a thinker. He’s usually the quietest of the bunch, though he did have a couple days where that pesky fear period got him. He was afraid of the sound of the lawn mower and just needed to be held for the day. Note that he had heard the lawnmower at least once a week for his entire life and been just fine. I bet if the lawnmower happened again tomorrow, he would be fine again. They just go through stages where they need a little reassurance. Egg will forge his own path with confidence.
Cluck is quiet confidence. Cluck will sit behind the crowd that’s begging for attention with full confidence that he doesn’t need to beg for attention because he will be chosen. If you dare to walk away without petting him and fawning over him, well then he has to bark and tell you the error of your ways. It makes me laugh every time. His hair is super soft and would make a great show coat. If I kept any puppy in this litter for conformation, it would be Cluck.
September 2, 2026 (8 weeks)
Everyone loaded into the car today and saw the vet. You might think a reproductive vet office becomes immune to the cuteness of puppies. I assure you, they do not. Every vet and tech in the building had to come say hello to all the fluffy puppies. I was also told that my puppies were just objectively the cutest and I completely agree.
On the ride to the vet, Cow decided he might be dying and he told us loud and clear. We listened, but turns out he was just fine. It was hot when we got in the vehicle and they have mostly outgrown my stroller and my carrier as a group so they were packed in a bit like sardines. I think Cow was just insulted by the accommodations.
Everyone got a clean bill of health. They got their first vaccines and they got microchipped. They all loved the vet until she stuck them with the microchip. Good thing about puppies is they have a short attention span so she was forgiven quickly.
August 27, 2026 (7 weeks)
Go see Maya’s entry for today and you’ll get some general information for these puppies too since both litters have been combined.
I do try to take everyone out on solo trips or take just a couple so they can get used to not always being in a large group.
Rooster and Cow came with me to the bookstore. Cow has always been a little more needy with attention, but this time they flipped rolls. I think Rooster has hit a little bit of the fear period that is common around this age. I held him and comforted him and then he calmed down quickly. I was able to sit and read a book if I stuck my hand in the stroller and they knew I was nearby.
Egg has finally come out of his shell. He plays hard with the other puppies and sleeps in the puppy piles. He confidently walks through the house and tolerates the ice maker noise with barely a reaction. Egg is a bit calmer than the other puppies in general but everyone gets the zoomies once in a while.
Cluck is a complete sweetheart. When everyone is jumping for our attention, he will just sit there and stare at us until we pick him up. That being said, if we ignore his quiet pleading and try to walk away, he will bark to show his displeasure.
Finally I would like to note that I had no idea everyone preferred female puppies to males. Males can be more laid back and calm and love bugs. Girls can be moody and snooty and opinionated. There is something to love about all puppies whether male or female.
Side note: I was helping with math homework while writing this so who knows how much I’ll need to come back and proofread but 4 squared is sixteen.
August 21, 2026 (6 weeks)
This morning we woke to a poopy disaster. I did not wake up early enough to take puppies outside to do their business and Sky and Maya are completely done cleaning up after puppies. Sigh.
All bedding was changed. All walls were wiped down. All puppies got baths.
Puppies were displeased but I can say the feeling was mutual.
They have gotten exposure to the kennel. There are now two kennels in their area that I always leave open. The puppies can open and close the door as they wish and come and go whenever. This way they get used the sounds of a kennel and the confinement. They often choose to nap in the kennel – sometimes as a group and sometimes on their own. I feel kennels are an essential tool because you can’t always be around to make sure your puppy is safe. Kennels can be a fantastic tool for those moments you have to step away for a bit. They are also good for when puppies are overstimulated and just need a break to calm down.
August 15, 2026 (5 weeks)
We stuck the two whelping boxes together so the puppies have more space to run and more playmates. We tried to separate them again for bedtime, but someone toppled himself over the barrier to sleep with his new friends. Any guesses as to who? If you said Rooster, you are completely correct. Rooster knows no boundaries.
Sky is unsure about the new puppies in her area. She feels this is a new amount of responsibility that she did not sign up for. She will feed the three she has always fed, but if all the puppies are together, she will retreat. Hence our trying to separate the groups at night. It kinda worked. Maya, however, fully embraces the madness and will feed any puppy that comes her way. Her limits come when it’s time to clean up after them.
Hen and Cow remain the most people centered of the litter and Egg remains Egg. Rooster and Cluck are always up for a new play date.
August 9, 2026
We did one field trip where we combined both litters in a stroller and went to the hobby store. They were packed in like sardines in my tiny stroller, but they fit! Probably won’t fit again.
I was not expecting as much attention as the crew gathered. I think we spoke to every person in that store. We got a wide range of elderly all the way down to less than a year. The ages are significant because the puppies need the exposure to all different kinds of people.
The puppies handled the attention well. They showed no fear. Honestly they were mostly upset when we had to be outside rather than in the store. I think it was the sun and the heat. We’ll have to take more walks outside.
We had two that were noisy, so those two spent more time in our arms than in the stroller. Hen and Cow. They were happy and content when we held them. These two are the ones that crave human attention the most at this point. Even at home they will whine until we can hold them at least once a day.
August 5, 2026
It is so much fun when all the personalities start to come out and play. Hen has followed a ball all the way from one side of the whelping box to the other. Rooster will play with anyone and everyone. Cow is all about the food – which is interesting because he is currently the smallest. Cluck lives up to his name and talks to us every time we walk by. Egg is egg; he really just does his own thing on his own time.
Every day the puppies sample food to supplement what Sky provides. The food is met with a variety of reactions. Cow will always eat. Hen couldn’t care less about the food. Everyone else will sample and taste and then walk in the food and play.
All puppies have had a few car rides and stroller rides and have decided that summer heat is overrated.
All puppies are using the pee pad – mostly consistently. I’m hopeful for more consistency as it’s almost time for mommy dogs to give up on cleaning up after puppies.
July 28, 2026
Puppies are 3 weeks old so we decided to introduce some new foods today and see what happened.
What happened was pure, entertaining chaos.
We mixed some potato with some puppy milk to get something that looks like rice pudding.
It was very well received.
Cluck would have eaten twice his body weight in this mush. It barely took any coaxing or teaching and he was on it.
Egg was both intrigued and confused. He knew something tasted good, but he wasn’t quite sure how to make it all work. He tried to eat the bowl itself no matter how much redirecting occurred. We smooshed some out to the bowl edge so he could at least get a taste.
Rooster was a pro. He found the food; he ate the food. Unfortunately, Hen happened.
Hen got an energy surge right when mush appeared. We tried to get her to taste some, and she did, but mostly she just ran all over the bowl and her littermates and never stopped.
Cow, well, he ate. He would pause when Hen came by and then he was back to his mush. He would like this meal again.
Sky enjoyed every drop of leftovers.
July 25, 2026
Well, plot twist, I ended up in the hospital for a few days. They have decided it was viral and it is slowly getting better. Basically it has been an excessive amount of dizziness
My kids have stepped up big time. Sky basically takes care of everything puppy related, but we need to take care of Sky. The kids have fed her and let her out and showed her with all the attention she needs.
Sky’s puppies are now fully mobile. This movement did cause a bit of anxiety last night. Rooster decided to break out of the whelping box and go his own way. Luckily I was checking my puppy cam in my hospital bed and saw the escapee. I called everyone at home, and finally one woke up. He rescued Rooster and we fixed the box so no more escapees.
July 21, 2026
When a dog has a C-section they can’t be bathed for two weeks. Two. Full. Weeks. Now it would be rude to call my own dog stinky, so I will refrain. What I will say is newborn puppies find their mothers by scent as they don’t have open eyes or ears yet. Sky’s puppies never lost their mother.
Anywho, Sky got a bath today!! She is looking and smelling a million times better. Everyone in my house is grateful.
Sky’s puppies have open eyes and they are getting around efficiently. I’ve had to cut their nails a few times as those grow efficiently and I don’t want them to scratch Sky. I have baby nail clippers with a light so I can see the tiny nails.
We gave them a slightly larger enclosure as they would have been able to climb out of the first one soon. They are not quite into exploring yet, but the move to eliminate away from where they sleep and they search for Sky when hungry.
July 18, 2026
We have finally reached a steady growth period. All puppies doubled their weight by ten days and most are already starting to open their eyes. They toddle around efficiently and I know they are going to outgrow their whelping box soon. We are going to have to get a little creative with that since I do not have a set up for two litters at once. My son thinks he can solve all our problems with cardboard. We’ll see.
In case you are curious, Rooster and Cluck are always fighting for the top spot with weight. The smallest is Egg, but not by much.
July 12, 2026
On Friday, Sky’s puppies had their dew claws removed. I do not routinely remove dew claws. I decided to go ahead and remove them on this litter because some of them had dew claws on both the front and back paws, some only front and some oddly only on one side. I would never have remembered who had what claw where and dew claws are already hard enough to clip. I’ve also had dogs get dew claws stuck in blankets and that is not a pretty sight.
Anyhow, the procedure is very quick. Some breeders will actually perform this on their own, but the vet is always my preference. When the puppies are this young, the dew claws are only attached by skin. The vet quickly applies skin glue once the dew claw is removed and you can barely tell anything happened.
All puppies have been growing really well, except one: Egg. (I’ll explain the names shortly.) I decided to move Egg back to Maya and now Maya has four puppies and Sky has three. Egg is now putting on weight well with Maya. It has been an interesting balancing act moving puppies between whelping boxes. I’m just trying to get every puppy fed while not overburdening either mother.
So names. I have a theme for naming each litter. I do this so I can have the formal AKC name and so that I can keep track of puppies. Yes, they have color bands, but why refer to a puppy as ‘red’ when you can instead have much more entertaining naming schemes? No one needs to keep our shortened names. It’s just the AKC name that will stick.
My son got to come up with the names for this litter. He’s sixteen. Brace yourselves.
- Egg (Male. White collar) Daisy Lynn’s Hot Breakfast
- Rooster (Male. Pink collar) Daisy Lynn’s Barn Alarm
- Cluck (Male. Yellow collar) Daisy Lynn’s Yapping Chicken
- Hen (Female. Tricolor. Red collar) Daisy Lynn’s Meal Machine
- Cow (Male Tricolor) Daisy Lynn’s Eat More Chicken
July 9, 2026
Sky’s body finally worked through all the C-section medications. I say finally because it felt like a long time, but it was really pretty fast for recovering from a major surgery.
She started walking around searching like she knew she was supposed to be doing something.
We brought two puppies back to her to see her reaction. If she wasn’t calm and showing signs of caring for the puppies, we wouldn’t leave them with her.
She struggled to calm in the whelping box, but when she sat on her own dog bed, she laid right down and started feeding puppies.
I cringed a little because her bed had not been recently washed. I didn’t intend for any puppies to be touching her dog bed.
Either way, it worked. Sky is now caring for four of her puppies in her whelping box. We left one puppy with Maya just to even the load between mommies a little.
All puppies are growing well even though both moms have hickies galore where puppies missed their targets.
July 7, 2026
I’m running on very little sleep.
Sky’s C-section went really well and we have five healthy puppies. There is one girl and four boys. The girl and one of the boys are tricolor. The remaining three boys are white with a little fawn that will fade fairly quickly.
When we got home, Sky was still disoriented from the C-section and her mothering instincts have still not kicked in.
We tried many different ways to feed puppies and get Sky on board to no avail.
Finally with a frantic call to my mentor breeder she suggested giving a puppy or two to Maya to see if Maya would feed them.
My friends. Let me tell you. Maya is now my hero. She has taken all of Sky’s puppies and treats them as her own. We rotate how many she has at a time and we are supplementing the feeding, but she is doing all the heavy lifting. I was so terrified of two litters this summer, but it has turned out to be my saving grace.
July 3, 2026
Sky had her Xray today on her bowling ball belly.
She has five puppies!
The vet says the puppies are a little big for my tiny Sky so we scheduled a C-section.
Puppies coming in three days!!
June 6, 2026
Sky’s beau this time was Graygray. His formal name is First State Kentucky Gray.
He came to stay with us for a week and was the sweetest houseguest. He is clear with all health tests (which you can look up on the OFA site) and is a super sturdy 13 pounds.
He is full of color which doesn’t always work with AKC standards. Apart from the color his genetics and conformation are fabulous, so I’m excited to see what puppies they produce together.
Graygray has an amazing personality. He meets everyone with gentleness and loves being center of attention. He will also just sleep in the corner when you have chores to do. He would be an amazing therapy dog.
June 5, 2026
Let’s give a moment to Sky before the puppies steal all the excitement.
Sky, often called SkySky because apparently we like double syllable names around here, has the nickname ‘tiny.’ She’s ten pounds, so perfectly within breed standards, but still on the smaller side.
Sky is my personal shadow. She gets my lap when I sit (except when Maya literally sits on top of her – she will then give side eye and go drink some water or sleep by the vent). If I’m walking around and lose sight of her, it’s because she’s right behind me and I have to turn a little circle.
She has all the doggy social skills and can make the grumpiest dog (aka my Havanese mix) love her. Every dog wants to play with Sky and she will happily play with every dog.
She loves going for training. She loves seeing the new sights, new people, and new dogs. She loves less when strangers want to pet her. She has her personal space and will let you know when you are approved to pet her. Once met with approval you are obligated to pet her upon her demand.
She is my princess and will forever have a spot on my lap.
June 4, 2026
Sky had her ultrasound today and we saw little puppy blobs! As I’ve mentioned before, the ultrasound is not super accurate as to the number of puppies to expect- we’ll have an X-ray closer to her due date for a more accurate count – but the ultrasound does tell us to expect puppies. The vet saw four little potential puppies. It may be a busy summer!
